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Back again: Burnett sidelined with freak injury

Angels reliever day to day after placing toddler in shopping cart

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TEMPE, Ariz. -- It happens basically every spring. Sean Burnett's lower back will lock up, put him on the shelf for a few days, then go away. Last year, it happened while putting his glove in his locker. This year, it happened while putting his 4-year-old son in a shopping cart.

"It's just like waking up and you feel it tight and it's just not loosening up," Burnett said. "But today it's as good as it's been, so just a couple more days. I'll get some more tests on it today, so no worries."

Burnett was buying groceries for his new Spring Training home over the weekend when the back flared up again, resulting in the same problem that cost him about 10 days while with the Nationals late last spring. He felt fine after throwing on Sunday and had an MRI on Monday that came back clean, but will undergo further tests on Tuesday to get a better read.

"My arm feels good and I'm in good shape," Burnett said. "So whenever it calms down, I'll be ready to go."

Burnett takes solace in the fact that the back flared up in the early portion of Spring Training, rather than the last week like it did in 2012.

"It's just the most random thing," Burnett said. "None of them have been baseball-related or anything like that. It comes, it lasts a few days, and it goes away."